Father & daughter killed on Kansas Turnpike in Sedgwick County after semi hits deer
A father and daughter from Minnesota were killed in a wreck on the Kansas Turnpike in Sedgwick County after rear-ending a semi when the truck driver stopped after hitting a deer and the barrier wall, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.
Deer are moving more frequently throughout the day and night this time of year during the height of the breeding season, known as the rut.
The semi was still “partially in the roadway” in the northbound lanes when the wreck occurred at about 4:13 a.m. Monday, a trooper wrote in the KHP crash log.
Thomas Reller, 78, and Octavia Reller, 27, both of Zumbrota, Minnesota, died at the scene of the wreck, the trooper wrote.
The father was driving a 2017 Chevrolet SUV. The SUV hit the rear-end of a 2025 International TK semi driven by a 45-year-old Houston woman who was taken to the hospital with suspected minor injuries. The SUV then veered to the right and hit the rear of another 2025 International TK semi driven by 47-year-old Texas woman, who lives near Houston and was taken to the hospital after complaining of possible injuries, the trooper wrote.
The second truck driver had stopped on the shoulder to help after the first semi driver hit the deer and wall.
The crash log does not say whether the semis were pulling any trailers.
